Personality: Alois is the product of unfortunate circumstances and no appropriate supervision. He has all the trappings of the self-centered, wealthy elite, with an undercurrent of instability and a dollop of deep insecurity. To meet him is to meet the exuberant, whimsical, even careless face he presents to the world; he's described as passionate and "burning," and he certainly takes those descriptors as far as they can go. Everything Alois does he does at 120% whether it be extravagance or bloodlust or just reacting to things. Emotions in moderation are not something he can do, really -- Alois is always on, all the time. Sometimes it's an act, in order to manipulate, such as when he turns on the waterworks to dramatically retell a tragic past that didn't actually happen to him (not exactly, anyway), and sometimes it's his true feelings. In a pre-series OVA, Alois catches a butterfly and keeps it as a pet, and when it dies within the day, he all but begs it to come back and take revenge on him for causing it to die. Then he tries to cremate it and sets his room on fire. There is no in-between with Alois, it's all or nothing, and usually all.
The manipulation is a real thing, though. Alois is a young man with a lot of anger inside him, and he never seems satisfied when he acts out. Losing his parents young and being reduced to a mistreated thief thereafter did not exactly warm him to other people, and instead he spent an indeterminate amount of time firmly believing that people who mistreated him (and his little brother) should be annihilated. Not just have a run-in with karma, but really and truly annihilated. He goes so far as to smash the medicine he stole from a sick old man after his brother tells him that someone else hurt him, demonstrating that he also views "people who mistreat me and my loved ones" as one unit. This is a pretty understandable mindset for a young child, who may not understand the proper way to react to conflict, but since Alois went from poor child thief to losing the only person left that he loved to being kidnapped into sexual slavery, it's not surprising that he never grew out of the mindset.
His world is black and white, in that way: either you're with him or against him, and to be with him is to love him, wholly, without distraction or judgement. Because he thinks of people in this cut-and-dry way, the fact that he very easily manipulates people is a logical result. He lacks empathy almost entirely, and is willing to do anything to get what he wants. He also acts out cruelly in moments where he knows he's being manipulated or mistreated in some way; when his "uncle" comes by to hear about his miraculous return to fortune (which Alois knows is the man's only real concern), he literally throws bank notes off a balcony to watch the man scramble for them on the ground below. And he laughs about it, because for all of a few minutes, it's a great time.
There is a reason that, even when Alois appears to be enthused or entertained by something, it ends very quickly, and that is another part of his anger problem. Going from overtly provocative and touchy-feely to furious and physically violent in 0.5 seconds is not indicative of a stable mind, exactly. He's so full of resentment and has spent so long being unhappy that he doesn't have much genuine happiness left in him. Things that make him truly happy are either cruel things or unhealthy things, and the result is that he's very quick to move on from one thing to the next without much care. What he can maintain is a grudge, and for ages. Beneath the laughing and dancing is a genuine desire to hurt that which has hurt him; it's heavily implied that he had his trusty demon butler Claude kill the previous Earl Trancy after enduring his abuse, and basically the entire series is dedicated to Alois' quest to destroy the demon who killed his younger brother. He believes, because of Claude, that this demon is Sebastian Michaelis, and so begins his quest to ruin his demon life by aiming for Ciel Phantomhive. The idea is that if Ciel is "his," Sebastian won't be able to consume his soul, and it will really, really piss him off. The fact that it's Ciel isn't actually anything personal - he's pretty ambivalent about Ciel, on the few occasions Ciel isn't trying to murder him! It's all about ruining the things that ruined him.
In this respect, Alois is actually somewhat cunning. The biggest indicator of this isn't revealed until the end of the series - at which point Alois' body is dead, his soul is contained in Ciel's body, and Claude and Sebastian are both trying to get him the hell out of there so they can nerd fight over who gets to eat Ciel. Alois, feeling now that he has been as wholly betrayed by Claude as he possibly can be and still wanting to piss off Sebastian, orchestrates a gambit (via second contract with demon maid Hannah) that will end in his proper death and Ciel becoming a demon. This effectively traps Sebastian in Ciel's servitude forever with no payoff, because a demon can't consume a soul that isn't human. To the very end, Alois is super, super set on giving a big middle finger to everyone who's ever hurt him.
Which leads us to the instability! As Alois is very, very easily hurt. Yet again a result of his (lack of) upbringing, the harsh treatment and abuse he suffered, and the frequent traumatic loss of people he loved, he is not exactly a contender for confident boy of the year. He has a paralyzing fear of being left alone that causes him to (attempt to) rule all of his interpersonal relationships with an iron fist. He threatens punishment to all of his demon servants if they displease him and most often deals out punishment, both physical and psychological, to the maid Hannah. He just doesn't know how to function in a healthy relationship, and when he loses the control of it he breaks down- see: begging for his life after Ciel hurts him in their duel, and immediately after begging for Claude's help and subsequent attention when Claude, uh, becomes Ciel-crazy and ignores him vomiting blood on the floor. Extreme cases, obviously, because of the stab wounds, but his entire relationship with Hannah for nearly the whole series is an exercise in hurting someone he knows won't fight back, because clearly treating her kindly would be disastrous.
The thing that drives Alois more than his urge to ruin ruiners' lives is his desperate desire to be loved. After everything he loves is taken from him abruptly and permanently, his idea of what love is and what it means to love and be loved become pretty warped. He acts overly affectionate and familiar with just about anybody, if the mood strikes, but the object of his deeply misguided affections is Claude. Who is a demon. Who doesn't have feelings. Who wants to eat his soul, until he decides he doesn't. Alois adores Claude. He wants Claude's attention and approval - and often tries to get reactions out of him, so much that Claude actually smiling is the thing that tips him off that something is Wrong. In Alois' eyes, Claude understands him better than anyone, and even after Claude changes the game and decides he'd rather have someone else's soul (and crushes Alois' skull in his hands), Alois still tells him that Claude is the most important thing in his life. He so desperately needs Claude that he is willing to knowingly live a lie, if it means Claude will pretend to give a shit about him.
In the end Claude doesn't give a shit, maybe, and Hannah is the one who understands Alois and loves him because his dead brother's soul is inside her. Yeah. Alois, desperate and needy as he is, immediately accepts her love and story as truth, because he just needs someone to tell him they love him.
(Of course, that is the end of the series, and he's less desperate but still pretty needy at the actual canon point, but.)
Finally, there is a tiny, tiny part of Alois that is an incredibly sad but also naive little kid. He tries to cremate a butterfly, for heaven's sake. He also thinks that saying "I'll leave you alone and apologize" is a compelling argument for why Ciel should spare his life, after antagonizing him and overtly trying to kill him and harass his butler. It's a problem.
Overall, Alois is a lonely boy wrapped in anger encased in a kaleidoscope of off-the-wall antics and inappropriate behavior.
no subject
Alois is the product of unfortunate circumstances and no appropriate supervision. He has all the trappings of the self-centered, wealthy elite, with an undercurrent of instability and a dollop of deep insecurity. To meet him is to meet the exuberant, whimsical, even careless face he presents to the world; he's described as passionate and "burning," and he certainly takes those descriptors as far as they can go. Everything Alois does he does at 120% whether it be extravagance or bloodlust or just reacting to things. Emotions in moderation are not something he can do, really -- Alois is always on, all the time. Sometimes it's an act, in order to manipulate, such as when he turns on the waterworks to dramatically retell a tragic past that didn't actually happen to him (not exactly, anyway), and sometimes it's his true feelings. In a pre-series OVA, Alois catches a butterfly and keeps it as a pet, and when it dies within the day, he all but begs it to come back and take revenge on him for causing it to die. Then he tries to cremate it and sets his room on fire. There is no in-between with Alois, it's all or nothing, and usually all.
The manipulation is a real thing, though. Alois is a young man with a lot of anger inside him, and he never seems satisfied when he acts out. Losing his parents young and being reduced to a mistreated thief thereafter did not exactly warm him to other people, and instead he spent an indeterminate amount of time firmly believing that people who mistreated him (and his little brother) should be annihilated. Not just have a run-in with karma, but really and truly annihilated. He goes so far as to smash the medicine he stole from a sick old man after his brother tells him that someone else hurt him, demonstrating that he also views "people who mistreat me and my loved ones" as one unit. This is a pretty understandable mindset for a young child, who may not understand the proper way to react to conflict, but since Alois went from poor child thief to losing the only person left that he loved to being kidnapped into sexual slavery, it's not surprising that he never grew out of the mindset.
His world is black and white, in that way: either you're with him or against him, and to be with him is to love him, wholly, without distraction or judgement. Because he thinks of people in this cut-and-dry way, the fact that he very easily manipulates people is a logical result. He lacks empathy almost entirely, and is willing to do anything to get what he wants. He also acts out cruelly in moments where he knows he's being manipulated or mistreated in some way; when his "uncle" comes by to hear about his miraculous return to fortune (which Alois knows is the man's only real concern), he literally throws bank notes off a balcony to watch the man scramble for them on the ground below. And he laughs about it, because for all of a few minutes, it's a great time.
There is a reason that, even when Alois appears to be enthused or entertained by something, it ends very quickly, and that is another part of his anger problem. Going from overtly provocative and touchy-feely to furious and physically violent in 0.5 seconds is not indicative of a stable mind, exactly. He's so full of resentment and has spent so long being unhappy that he doesn't have much genuine happiness left in him. Things that make him truly happy are either cruel things or unhealthy things, and the result is that he's very quick to move on from one thing to the next without much care. What he can maintain is a grudge, and for ages. Beneath the laughing and dancing is a genuine desire to hurt that which has hurt him; it's heavily implied that he had his trusty demon butler Claude kill the previous Earl Trancy after enduring his abuse, and basically the entire series is dedicated to Alois' quest to destroy the demon who killed his younger brother. He believes, because of Claude, that this demon is Sebastian Michaelis, and so begins his quest to ruin his demon life by aiming for Ciel Phantomhive. The idea is that if Ciel is "his," Sebastian won't be able to consume his soul, and it will really, really piss him off. The fact that it's Ciel isn't actually anything personal - he's pretty ambivalent about Ciel, on the few occasions Ciel isn't trying to murder him! It's all about ruining the things that ruined him.
In this respect, Alois is actually somewhat cunning. The biggest indicator of this isn't revealed until the end of the series - at which point Alois' body is dead, his soul is contained in Ciel's body, and Claude and Sebastian are both trying to get him the hell out of there so they can nerd fight over who gets to eat Ciel. Alois, feeling now that he has been as wholly betrayed by Claude as he possibly can be and still wanting to piss off Sebastian, orchestrates a gambit (via second contract with demon maid Hannah) that will end in his proper death and Ciel becoming a demon. This effectively traps Sebastian in Ciel's servitude forever with no payoff, because a demon can't consume a soul that isn't human. To the very end, Alois is super, super set on giving a big middle finger to everyone who's ever hurt him.
Which leads us to the instability! As Alois is very, very easily hurt. Yet again a result of his (lack of) upbringing, the harsh treatment and abuse he suffered, and the frequent traumatic loss of people he loved, he is not exactly a contender for confident boy of the year. He has a paralyzing fear of being left alone that causes him to (attempt to) rule all of his interpersonal relationships with an iron fist. He threatens punishment to all of his demon servants if they displease him and most often deals out punishment, both physical and psychological, to the maid Hannah. He just doesn't know how to function in a healthy relationship, and when he loses the control of it he breaks down- see: begging for his life after Ciel hurts him in their duel, and immediately after begging for Claude's help and subsequent attention when Claude, uh, becomes Ciel-crazy and ignores him vomiting blood on the floor. Extreme cases, obviously, because of the stab wounds, but his entire relationship with Hannah for nearly the whole series is an exercise in hurting someone he knows won't fight back, because clearly treating her kindly would be disastrous.
The thing that drives Alois more than his urge to ruin ruiners' lives is his desperate desire to be loved. After everything he loves is taken from him abruptly and permanently, his idea of what love is and what it means to love and be loved become pretty warped. He acts overly affectionate and familiar with just about anybody, if the mood strikes, but the object of his deeply misguided affections is Claude. Who is a demon. Who doesn't have feelings. Who wants to eat his soul, until he decides he doesn't. Alois adores Claude. He wants Claude's attention and approval - and often tries to get reactions out of him, so much that Claude actually smiling is the thing that tips him off that something is Wrong. In Alois' eyes, Claude understands him better than anyone, and even after Claude changes the game and decides he'd rather have someone else's soul (and crushes Alois' skull in his hands), Alois still tells him that Claude is the most important thing in his life. He so desperately needs Claude that he is willing to knowingly live a lie, if it means Claude will pretend to give a shit about him.
In the end Claude doesn't give a shit, maybe, and Hannah is the one who understands Alois and loves him because his dead brother's soul is inside her. Yeah. Alois, desperate and needy as he is, immediately accepts her love and story as truth, because he just needs someone to tell him they love him.
(Of course, that is the end of the series, and he's less desperate but still pretty needy at the actual canon point, but.)
Finally, there is a tiny, tiny part of Alois that is an incredibly sad but also naive little kid. He tries to cremate a butterfly, for heaven's sake. He also thinks that saying "I'll leave you alone and apologize" is a compelling argument for why Ciel should spare his life, after antagonizing him and overtly trying to kill him and harass his butler. It's a problem.
Overall, Alois is a lonely boy wrapped in anger encased in a kaleidoscope of off-the-wall antics and inappropriate behavior.
Abilities/Powers: None!